From Gallifrey to Dragon Stars
by Atlas Theseus
Summary: The Doctor and Rose embark on their next adventure (instead of the atrocity known as Doomsday), and find themselves on a whirlwind quest to one of the most sinister planets in the universe. The Doctor is brought face-to-face with the torturer of thousands, and must find a way to save the teenage heir to the Dragon Star before she's beyond all help.
1. Draugal Nova

AUTHOR'S NOTE –

This fanfiction is a crossover between Doctor Who and my own personal book series that I am in the process of having published. The story is meant to take place instead of the atrocity known as "Doomsday" – chronologically, right after the episode "Fear her". This is my first fic, so any and all feedback deserves a cookie.

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I DO NOT OWN DOCTOR WHO OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS MENTIONED WITHIN.

ANY OTHER CHARACTERS IN THIS STORY BELONG TO ME AND ARE NOT TO BE USED WITHOUT MY EXPLICIT PERMISSION.

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enjoy

* * *

" _So, where do you fancy this time, Rose?_ " the Doctor shouted above the roar of the Tardis, dancing around her console like a trained professional. (Then again, he was nine centuries old. The possibility of him being an actual certified dancer was quite high – he and Rose had already been to several planets in which the single greatest joy in life was dancing.)

The orange coral interior of the Tardis shimmered under the glare of the console's blue center. The Doctor was wearing his two-piece brown suit and trench coat, with a pristine (soon to be _not_ _so pristine_ ) pair of white converse. He'd switched it with the black pair since their encounter with the Isolus, Rose noted. His hair now boasted a more vertical flair, thanks to the generous application of hair gel. She appreciated this look tremendously more than this incarnation's previous do's.

Rose herself was wearing a pair of boot-cut black jeans, a pink and blue hoodie, and sporty trainers. Her sleeves were rolled up to her elbows, revealing a slightly childish bead bracelet on her right wrist. Her golden mane flowed over her back like a wave, free and bouncing in time with the Tardis's shuddering. She'd chosen to lighten up the mascara today, and to her delight The Doctor actually had noticed. He never usually did. Maybe there was hope for him after all.

" _Don't you mean 'when'?_ " Rose laughed, well-versed in Timelord vernacular.

" _Wibbly-wobbly, **timey-wimey!**_ " The Doctor retorted gleefully, slamming a hand on a number of ancient buttons, " _I have a Tardis! The entire universe is our playground, Rose – time, space, and all! Who do you want to swing with?_ " He lowered his face to the console screen, grinning at his companion across the minefield of buttons and switches.

Rose thought for a moment as she was thrown heedlessly around the control room of the Tardis. They'd already been to Clom twice this year, and they'd risked their lives in the Roman Coliseum while posing as Gladiators. They'd visited a planet where people only ate toast and drank something resembling ketchup. They'd climbed a literal mountain made of grass clippings, and saved a colony of turtle people from fiery destruction. They'd helped a young Isolus get back to its family and simultaneously saved the human population from an eternal paper prison. Each adventure was not quite like the last, and Rose came away from all of them perfectly breathless and in dire need of a good bath. She loved the thrill of it, and she sensed that she was close to enjoying it as much as The Doctor himself. But lately things had been a little too "sci-fi" for her. She wanted something more...fantasy. Princesses and fairies and wizards was one thing, but...it wasn't hardcore enough. Go hard or go home.

" _Are there any dragons in the universe?_ " she asked, not completely serious but interested all the same. " _Do they like to swing with aliens?_ "

The Doctor, still dancing, grinned wider.

" _Oh, loads, Rose! And they all live on a planet called the Dragon Star, or 'Draugal Nova' as it's known by the inhabitants. They're practically immortal, too – the dragons can't be killed by another being or object! They have an organ made of pure energy that rests right above the heart - they call it the Soul. It feeds them, heals them, and it can replenish itself almost infinitely. It keeps them alive until its predestined expiration date; they have twice the lifespan of an average human, and then they just pass away when they get too old! Genius!_ "

He twirled one last time, and then did a double-take at the Tardis screen.

His face fell.

" _What?!_ "

The Doctor proclaimed this, bringing his spacecraft to a halt in mid-travel. Rose steeled herself to avoid whiplash, and all of her hair blew into her face at once. He squinted at the monitor before cramming his lens-less glasses onto the bridge of his nose.

" _ **What?!**_ " he repeated, struggling to comprehend the fast, small text scrolling across the screen.

Rose's smile evaporated at the sight of his expression. She brushed the hair out of her face, perfect eyebrows furrowing in concern. She watched as The Doctor's face evolved into a greater level of shock.

"Doctor? What is it? What's wrong? Are we in trouble?"

She ran up to him, sliding against his thin frame.

On the screen, a repeating message scrolled past in foreign script:

* * *

THE PLANET DRAUGAL NOVA IS CLOSED FROM

OUTER ACCESS. THE LORD AND LORDESS HAVE

BEEN KILLED, NEWBORN CHILD STOLEN. THE

PLANET IS UNDER MANDATORY LOCKDOWN

UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.

ISSUE DATE: 736205 – 4267 – 2620

* * *

The Doctor was silent for a long time.

The Tardis went still, trying not to break his thoughts. The dull bass thrumming stimulated a heartbeat for her, synonymous to meditation music. Rose ran her finger along The Doctor's sleeve, feeling the icy stiffness of his arms beneath the material of his coat and suit. Rose cast her eyes over the screen as well, understanding nothing of what she saw. She would have to wait for him to explain, then. The universe seemed to pause, waiting for him to speak once more.

"We received this message just as the Tardis came within range of the Dragon Star," he said. The Timelord took his glasses off, rubbing his eyes solemnly. "Blimey. Druvidian and Vhysrael…dead?"

The Doctor switched off the monitor, still coming to grips with the situation.

Rose's sympathetic eyes blinked. "I'm sorry, Doctor… Did you know them well?"

The young-looking (but now much older-feeling) Gallifreyan leaned painfully against the Tardis's console. He hunched over the switches, closing his eyes.

"You don't understand, Rose. That message was issued in year twenty-six twenty. In terms of the Dragon Star, that message was sent _sixteen_ _years ago_. The planet's been in complete lockdown for almost two decades now. And some…some madman has the heir to the planet chained up in his basement, or someplace equally _foul_ , and has no doubt been torturing her for sixteen years. _Sixteen._ And I had no idea…"

Rose was speechless.

And really, what could she say? This was the kind of sorrow only he could understand in full capacity. It wasn't like losing her granddad. The Doctor had just lost two friends, and what's more he blamed himself for not being there to save them. He always did. Anything and everything tragic that ever happened in the universe became his responsibility from the moment he caught word of it, and if he didn't find out soon enough he kicked himself for being slow on the discovery. No doubt he was wracking his alien brain right now, trying to examine the situation twelve ways to Sunday.

"Doctor…what makes you think that heir's kidnapper's been torturing her?" she asked, trying to ease his guilt.

The Doctor sighed.

"Because I know what Dragons are like, Rose. They're some of the most powerful creatures in the galaxy – at least, of the ones that don't use technological weapons. They can fly, they can breathe fire, and they're impossible to kill. Their strength makes them valuable in the eyes of slave-traders and merchants that deal in the sentient. There are species that _actively_ seek Dragons out, so they can use them as slaves and pack-animals. Dragons rarely attack unless they've been provoked first, and by the time they are…it's too late. So, they make easy victims – and to those that seek out Dragons for their own ends, it makes them very attractive prey."

Rose shuddered just thinking about it.

She couldn't imagine what it would be like if her own mum were hunted like that…or Mickey, for that matter. What would life be like on Earth if humans were seen as more "desirable"? Would she still be alive? Would mum or Mickey or Shreen, or any of her work buds? What about her childhood mates? Would there even be a working society, or would the entire planet turn into a massive alien Nazi extermination camp?

Suddenly, The Doctor's pocket began to itch with psychic energy. He fished the thin booklet out of his bottomless pocket, and flipped it open. On it were written a set of coordinates and two jagged words –

* * *

/SHE WAITS/

* * *

The Doctor read it thrice to himself, and then showed the message to Rose. Normally psychic paper script was clean, with crisp straight lines. Whatever (or whoever) had sent these words had obviously not taken much effort in getting the message across. Either that, or his mentality was so malicious that his words translated into the "chiller" font from Microsoft Word.

"What does _that_ mean?" Rose asked, getting past her analysis. "' _She waits'_?"

The Doctor stared into blank space, the rage on his face all too apparent. He stuffed the psychic paper back into his pocket. "It means the killer knows I'm here. They know I've come to the planet, and they're mad enough to bait me into finding his hideout." He looked down at Rose, and then, inexplicably, smiled. "It means that that same person is about to be very sorry they ever met _me! HAH!_ "

He leapt up from beneath his companion's grasp, dancing around the Tardis once more.

" _Hold onto your seat, Rose! Looks like you get to see the Dragons after all! ALLONS-Y!_ "

And with the back-breaking pull of a lever the Tardis and her passengers zoomed into the time-vortex, leaving a despairing planet in their wake.

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* * *

When the Dragon awoke, she was strapped to a table with her wings stretched out wide. Panic was the first thing she knew.

She felt the familiar cold, which was amplified by her sluggish heartbeat. The rank stench of antiseptic metals and spilled alien fluids bombarded her nostrils. The circulation in her arms was less than comfortable, but it was about the most desirable of sensations she'd ever experienced.

Her form was humanoid, save certain draconic elements. Her scales were colored in a pattern that faded from deep scarlet to gold, and then to emerald green and deep turquoise. From her hands to her shoulders this pattern went, as well as from foot-to-thigh, breast-to-chin, lip-to-jaw, and tail tip-to-base. Her body was adorned with blood-red horns, each deadly sharp. Her tail coiled over the end of the table, its scarlet, diamond-shaped blade swinging lethargically. Her glittering wings were pinned beneath her, excruciating. (The membranes were coated in hyper-sensory micro-scales, which were meant for tasting the air current. They were designed for air, not metal and heavy bones. Physical contact such as this was unhealthy, and prolonged trauma would deaden her nerves.)

Hallstalker thought she was beautiful in a way that appealed to his "scientific" curiosity. After all, that was her purpose in life – to be a test-subject.

To be his.

The Dragon screamed in horror and tried to breathe flame, but to no avail – Hallstalker had temporarily frozen her fire-lung. This understanding reached her, and she began to thrash. Her tail strained towards the straps that held her prisoner, but to no avail.

Hallstalker laughed, and typed an intricate command into the keypad of his control panel. In response, thousands of volts of electricity began to course through the Dragon's body.

Her scream turned into a manic roar, and a stream of brilliant blue flame jettisoned from her throat and billowed up into the chamber.

" _Damn,_ " Hallstalker thought. " _The lung thawed._ "

Ah, well. The Dragon would pass out soon, so he could start again later. And no sooner had this thought passed his wretched mind than the Dragon slumped back against the table, flames receding back into her lungs. Smoke issued from her eyes and her pores, but Hallstalker was not concerned. Her Soul had healed injuries far worse than this before.

Hallstalker was halfway through another command when he heard the alarms. And based upon the pitch and intensity of the sound he knew that a craft of unknown origin had landed in the planet's atmosphere.

No, not landed – _materialized_.

Hallstalker ordered two androids of Dalek origin to take the Dragon back to her cell. She was the least of his worries now.

He was expecting a Timelord.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE -

This is an edited version. I'm going back and adding some stuff to the old chapters, so it's noticeably longer and hopefully it makes a bit more sense in terms of flow.

-Atlas


	2. Harkness and Seeker

AUTHOR'S NOTE –

* * *

This chapter is going to be quite a bit longer than the first. No more of the Dragon as of yet, but definitely in the next chapter. God, this fic is so old – I started writing it on paper about three years ago. (Harkness alert!)

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I DO NOT OWN ANY CHARACTERS FROM DOCTOR WHO. DO NOT USE MY ORIGINAL CHARACTERS.

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 **XXXXXXXXXX**

* * *

As soon as the Tardis landed, The Doctor checked the console screen one last time. His brain registered the information almost immediately, but his eyes struggled to catch up. There was surface weather, crust composition, local seismic activity, temperature, orbit path and rate, and a million other things he didn't have time to appreciate. But the last thing his eyes settled on was the title of their current location - the name of the planet.

 _Skoul-Blakaulos Shakkrazhiin._

His two hearts skipped a simultaneous beat.

" _Hold on, Rose!_ " he cried in alarm as his companion made for the doors. The Doctor sprinted, thrusting himself in front of her path. His converse skidded both comically and audibly against the textured floor, but alarm blotted out the mental function necessary to enjoy the irony of the situation. (He'd replay it in his head later. What else was he going to to while he watched Rose fall asleep after tea?)

Rose started. "Is something waiting to kill us on the other side of that door, is that what you're going on about? Can it get it?" she asked, trying to use some of the Timelord logic she'd been picking up on.

"No! Well, maybe…just listen." The Doctor said, placing his hands on Rose's shoulders. His touch was insistent, in a protective way. Rose could feel the anxiety rolling off the back of his brown trench coat. His brown eyes locked onto hers (oh, so brown), so wide that his eyelids didn't touch the edges of his irises.

There was definitely danger here.

The Timelord took a moment, then drew in a breath and began, "These coordinates put us in the center of the planet Skoul-Blakaulos Shakkrazhiin – this is home to a race called the Seekers. These people, though they can hardly be called such, are ruthless. They kill when it suits their fancy, and they use other races to meet their ends. They scavenge technology from species all over the universe – trust me, nothing is too extreme. You name it, the Seekers have probably experimented on it. Now...Maybe they stole that Dragon to get my attention, maybe not. But I'm here now, and a Timelord's knowledge would be an invaluable asset to their schemes. This will be dangerous, Rose – possibly the most dangerous thing we've ever done together. But I can't let myself leave without freeing every soul held captive here. If anything happens, you have the Tardis key. Do you understand?"

Rose nodded her blond head, eyes unblinking.

The gravity of this situation couldn't have been made clearer to her – forget saving planets from the Daleks, this was _serious_. It was a given that their trips could turn decidedly dangerous at any given time, but he never stopped to give her a preemptive warning. Never. Nothing had ever made The Doctor give her a look like this before, not even the time when she'd been abducted by the Dalek emperor. This time he was genuinely _scared_ , and not just for her - for himself, as well.

She hoped he had a damn good plan to sort out this one.

"So, wot are you going to do, genius?" Rose inquired, checking in on the current situation of her last thought. "Hop in there and demand they give the Dragon princess back after…what was it, sixteen years?"

"Um…basically…yeah, I really was just going to make it up as I went along…" The Doctor finished in a subdued fashion.

Rose sighed both mentally and physically. "Well, then," she went on with a slow grin to lighten the mood, "what are we waiting for?"

The Doctor smiled at his companion.

Really, after all the people he'd traveled with before, Rose Tyler was among the best. She was your everyday Braveheart – no fear, no flight. And even when she was afraid, her dexterity of mouth had sent the masters of whole empires running in self-preservation.

"Stay behind me," The Doctor warned, turning to the door, "and keep your eyes open."

* * *

The Doctor stepped out of the Tardis, eyes alert. Rose followed close behind, not sure what to expect.

They had landed in the middle of a massive circular chamber, the ceiling of which stretched on out of view. The diameter of said chamber was more than forty meters across. There were floors upon floors of glass holding cells, and behind each hexagonal door was a caged inmate of a multitude of sorts. There was also a sickly blue glow cast upon the floor: a flawless marble space which was coated with bloodied scientific equipment and wires. (" _Like a doctor's,_ " Rose thought, " _But…thankfully not_ _ **my**_ _Doctor._ ") Antiseptic chemical smells met her head on, though she was much less reluctant in the exchange than the smells were. Dust and grime caked the outer rim of the floor, accompanied by bolts and wires and little piles of discarded tech. Rose could have sworn she saw a cybernetic eye, still swiveling in the wake of its owner. Behind them there was the black mouth of a cavern (which The Doctor noted as a possible escape route), which looked like it had been burrowed through by a gigantic worm.

And then there was a man:

A single solitary man standing amidst the chaos like it was the only home he'd ever known. (But then again, it really was – he was a Seeker, and this was his home.) The Seeker's face was horribly mangled, probably by his own doing. One of his irises was red, and the other eye was glassy, milky white. His shoulders tilted to one side, like he had a spinal injury that never quite healed properly. He was wearing a dingy, torn lab coat that wouldn't have looked too out-of-place in an Earth hospital, and a glass cybernetic lens was fused into the skin of his hairless head. His red eye glowed eerily from beneath this lens, all at once disturbing and intriguing.

Even at this distance of ten meters or so, Rose could feel the evil emanating from the Seeker. His eyes raked over her like something edible. Despite his aura and his visage, he reminded Rose of a little goblin – he was hunched over so much that his head brushed even with hers.

The air felt distant, and even though no sound had yet breached her ears Rose knew that the acoustics here were phenomenal.

Then The Doctor spoke, filling the silence.

" _Are you the man who killed Dragon Lordess Vhysrael Akarai and her Lord Druvidian?_ "

The Seeker grinned, bloody mouth gaping and full of gnarled teeth. His expression was taken by both parties as an affirmative.

"Name yourself, Seeker." The Doctor demanded.

The Seeker hissed, reluctant to resort to humanoid forms of speech. " _I am the Hallstalker. And you…_ _ **you**_ _are the lonely son of_ _ **Gallifrey**_ _._ "

His voice sounded strangled, like his throat was full of blood. He spoke in a language which Rose assumed would have sounded very dark indeed without the Tardis's translation. As his breath floated across the stagnant air to their location, she choked on a gag. It was like he was rotting from the inside out: a by-product of his maleficent lifestyle.

"My name is The Doctor," said the Timelord, "As you doubtless know, I've come to take back the Dragon child you abducted."

" _She is mine!_ " Hallstalker growled pridefully. "She is my rightful possession. I will tear her apart, strip her body cell from cell, and use her for my own entertainment for as long as her life force allows! You, a mere man with two hearts and many lives, think you can keep me from that?!"

" _Sounds like Torchwood One…_ " Rose muttered.

Hallstalker – upon hearing her – tilted his head in disgust. "Torchwood!" he hissed, nose crinkling as if he'd just smelled something more foul than his own musk. "That human organization is a mere _infant_ in comparison with my ambitions and achievements. They know nothing. And you, just the same, will know nothing."

"Oh, come on!" The Doctor insisted. "Show some hospitality! You invited us here – you even gave us the coordinates to your house! At least take us to see who we came to see. And you've got the upper hand, anyway. This is your territory, and unlike us you probably know it like the back of your hand! What do you have to lose? Eh?"

Hallstalker growled, drawing back. He understood that The Doctor was playing to both his pride and his logic, wary of how far things could go before he'd be forced to yank the chain and bring the situation back under his control. For now, he would allow the Timelord to get comfortable.

" _Fine_ ," The Seeker relented. "But you will see others first. You are now my indefinite guests, so there will be plenty of time to see the great sights my planet has to offer. _She_ can wait."

Right, Rose remembered, "she waits".

Hallstalker began to lead his guests along the first floor of captured alien species. He shuffled along with his arthritic gait, and The Doctor and Rose filed into line behind him. Hallstalker stopped sometimes to gloat over his catches, recounting the circumstances of their imprisonment. To Rose's surprise, there were some species she recognized: Kryllitains, Cybermen, Slitheen, Trees, Daleks and Werewolves. And there were many more species that she didn't recognize: armored humanoids with rhinoceros heads, gigantic birds with green cubes for feet and eyes, enormous bees, magenta-skinned girls with eight elfin ears on their necks, and a ten-foot-tall beast covered in white fur (which Rose suspected was the origin for the Bigfoot myth). Most strikingly of all there was something resembling a short man in blue armor with a potato for a head.

All the while they passed by these nameless prisoners of war, The Doctor began to look extremely sad.

These were some of his worst enemies, true, but he felt their pain. He felt guilty over their capture, if not empathetic. This situation was similar to the time when he'd been imprisoned by Henry Van Statten and almost made into a cellmate for a Dalek. Though Van Statten's cruelty was nothing compared to what Hallstalker confessed to doing. Had The Doctor, Rose wondered, been a Seeker's victim at some point in time? Is that why he was so jarred by their arrival?

She shuddered as the thought created unwelcome pictures in her mind, and it disturbed her how easily those visions came to her – she could see him chained up in those cells, being experimented on. She could hear his scream. It was like this place was superimposing the images into her head , like they were a possible future about to become very, very real.

But what disturbed Rose most was the fact that none of these poor souls sought to break free. Even the Daleks were silent in their metal shells.

Was their fate so hopeless?

Was the situation so inevitable that no one dared to cry out even _once_? Were they in such a position of defeat that none of them could dare to meet her eyes even for a second?

Rose now wondered how this place had been allowed to exist for so long. All of these warring races, all those Daleks and Cybermen with their technology, and none of them – not one – had ever bothered to come rescue their own? None of them had even gone to war with the Seekers over this? But…if even _The Doctor_ was terrified to come here, then…maybe the Seekers were far more powerful than she realized.

She was about to whisper something in The Doctor's ear, but the next prisoner made her stop cold.

" _Doctor? Is that…is that_ _ **Jack?!**_ " Rose started.

The Doctor spun on his heels, eyes searching wildly. His coat billowed around him, twisting up against his legs. He was behind Rose in three strides.

Sure enough, Captain Jack Harkness himself stood unconscious in his restraints. A bloodied World War Two coat (which would henceforth become his trademark item of clothing) was tossed lazily over his shoulders, full of rips and ragged holes. His arms were held above him just high enough that his toes could scrape the floor. Luscious black-brown locks draped over his perfect features, slightly matted with blood (most likely his own). Since the last time they'd seen him (Rose thought) Jack's face had lost some of its boyish quality - he seemed like a more solid presence, almost like The Doctor.

How long had he been unconscious for?

On second thought, The Doctor decided, he was probably dead. " _Oh, well…_ " he thought with a shrug. But as harsh as that sounded, he knew Jack would snap back into the realm of the living at any second.

"How did you find him?" The Doctor asked Hallstalker with a sidelong glance.

"The idiot tried to use his vortex manipulator to bounce halfway across the universe," The Seeker hissed. "His path would have taken him straight through the heart of my planet, coincidentally. I intercepted the signal and redirected it here. A lucky find, wouldn't you say, _Doctor?_ " He spat the word "Doctor" with plenty of gleeful venom.

"Quite…" The Doctor sighed, retrieving the sonic screwdriver from its place inside the material of his long coat. He pointed it towards the glass of Jack's cell, and pressed its solitary button. A familiar whirring noise filled Rose's ears, and with a disembodied beep the glass door unlocked.

Hallstalker roared, shoving himself between The Doctor and the cell. " _What are you doing, Timelord?!_ " he demanded.

"Rescuing my friend," The Doctor replied, eyes cold.

The Seeker seethed angrily. " _You will do_ _ **no**_ _such thing! He is_ _ **my**_ _prisoner!_ "

The Doctor pointed his sonic screwdriver at the door adjacent to Jack's, which just so happened to contain a Dalek. The Doctor's cold unblinking eyes screamed a challenge.

"I can bring this whole place down with the press of a button," The Doctor threatened, "I can release every prisoner within a matter of seconds and let them come crashing in here looking for you."

" _They are your enemies as well, Doctor. They will come after you, once I have been eliminated._ " Hallstalker growled, trying to remain in control of the situation.

The Doctor's head rose and his voice grew in pitch as it always did when he knew he had the advantage. "Yes, but _I_ have an escape route. _You don't_. You're stuck here, on this planet, surrounded by hundreds of species that you've tortured, and they all want _one_ thing – _**you**_." He accentuated the last word with a condescending finger, which he jabbed a little less than ceremoniously into Hallstalker's chest.

The Seeker slipped into a glare, but dropped his gaze. His submission was a ruse, and The Doctor knew it. A man (if he deserved the title) as cunning as Hallstalker would have a better backup plan, perhaps several. He also had a sneaking suspicion that these plans would involve the Dragon in some way.

The Doctor stared down at Hallstalker as he slunk to the side. "Now, if you don't mind, I have an immortal soldier to collect," the Timelord continued. He handed the sonic screwdriver off to Rose so she could unlock his handcuffs.

Just as Rose began to pull the glass cell door open, Captain Jack bolted awake.

He revived with a half-scream, panting with relief. Rose jumped back, never having seen Jack wake up in such a manner. (At the time, she still had no idea he was immortal. The Doctor hadn't gotten around to telling her that story, nor did he intend to for a while.)

Jack's sparkling blue eyes lit up as they settled on The Doctor and Rose Tyler.

He grinned.

"Just can't keep away from me, can you, Doctor?" Jack preened, face coated in a glimmering sheen of sweat. His American accent cut through the stale air. "I knew you'd find me sooner or later. Nice face, by the way."

"Yeah, but don't get used to it," The Doctor sighed, ignoring his last remark. He rolled his eyes in irritation as Rose untied the Captain. "We're not here for you, you just happened to be chained up in the same place."

Jack's smile grew in its degree of smugness.

"Who _are_ you here for, then? Do they look better than me?" Finally out of his restraints, Harkness cracked his sore joints. " _Nice to see you too, Rose,_ " he added off to the side.

The Doctor cringed at Jack's flamboyant vanity.

"Probably…" he conceded. "Look, what say we catch up later? We really aren't in the right place to be having this conversation…"

"You're right, we're not." Jack scowled as he caught sight of the figure cowering behind The Doctor's coat. "And _he's_ not in the right place either – not if he wants to keep his body parts intact."

Hallstalker hissed at his own mention.

The Doctor's arm shot out as Jack advanced.

"Come on, Doctor, let me hit him just once," Jack goaded himself, eyes trained on the Seeker. "He deserves it."

The Doctor grabbed Jack by the shoulder.

"No, not yet…" he whispered in the immortal soldier's ear, "I'm not denying that his actions owe him a good round. But I need him to take me to someone. Once he's done that, the Seeker's all yours. Then you can put him in his proper place – probably a grave, by the look of it."

Jack resigned, satisfied. "It's that serious, huh? Who's he got that's so important?"

Hallstalker's hunched frame rose slightly, and he lashed out with a bleeding sneer. "Her parents were of the highest rank upon the planet Draugal Nova. I killed them, and took the child for my own purposes. She was the first of my many test subjects. _See how my collection has evolved!_ "

The Seeker smiled maniacally, arms spread wide to embrace the chaos. As he did so, thousands of voices took up a cry of tremendous pain and suffering. To Rose and Jack, the sound was unnerving.

To The Doctor, it was an excruciating call to action.

He had to save these people, he already knew, no matter what the cost.

And nothing was going to stop him.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE-

Yaaaaayyyyy! Jack! My Baby has arrrived! (Reviews earn one a cookie.)

Also, this is the re-upload.


	3. Fear in Flight

AUTHOR'S NOTE-

* * *

I'm back again, people! Let's see what happens when The Doctor and crew meet the Dragon for the first time.

* * *

I DO NOT OWN DOCTOR WHO OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS.

DO NOT USE MY ORIGINAL CHARACTERS.

* * *

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* * *

"Alright, you've had your fun, Seeker. It's time to keep up your end of the bargain. Take us to the Dragon," The Doctor demanded. His wild hair seemed to light up the atmosphere with rage.

Hallstalker sneered.

"What do you think you will accomplish? I give no consent for you to remove her from her cell, and if you do you must leave one of your own in her place. I should think the conditions are consistent for taking your soldier friend as well. In this universe, what is owed is paid. If you want to rescue the Dragon and the Soldier, I shall expect you to leave yourself and your delicious human companion as compensation."

Rose shuddered, pressing a little closer to The Doctor. One look from Hallstalker was like having your whole life's worth of memories examined at once - it was violating, it was abrupt, and it left you feeling all exposed. There was a hunger in the Seeker's eyes that blood and gore and sixteen years of torture hadn't yet satisfied. With that hunger directed at her, Rose wanted nothing more than to sprint back into the Tardis and hide in its wardrobe for the next century or so. But that same feeling was what drove her to stay, compelling her to free others from the experience.

"Take us to her anyway," The Doctor growled defiantly.

Hallstalker grinned in silence.

" _Fine,_ " The Doctor thought, " _we'll just have to do this my way after all._ " But just as he reached for his sonic screwdriver again, Jack spoke up –

"Leave it, Doctor. _I_ know where she is."

"You mean the heir to the Dragon Star?" The Doctor asked to confirm. "Vhysrael and Druvidian's daughter?"

"Yeah. She's on floor thirty-seven. Pretty much all of us poor souls know who she is at this point - she was the first, and she's the favorite...for a number of reasons. But a word of caution; I don't think this rescue is going to go down like you expect," Jack said.

"I'm not sure what I expect at this point," The Timelord conceded. "So, off we go to see the wizard. Floor thirty-seven it is. Come on, Rose. Hallstalker, you're welcome to come along if you want, but you won't stop us from getting there."

Silently, the Seeker took up his offer.

Jack kept a weather eye on the Seeker while The Doctor operated the ancient lift system with his sonic. Strangely, Hallstalker had no comment to offer on their persistence. He made no qualms about their progress to the lift, and was in fact first in line when they hopped inside. And as the metal cart hefted them up into the air, the Seeker did nothing but stare at The Doctor's back and cower.

That alone was a warning sign to Rose.

Why was he making this so easy for them? He'd acted the indignant jailer outright, but as time passed his reluctance slipped away. Now he was just going through the motions with barely a word against them. Rose knew enough about reverse psychology (which she'd tested out on Mickey a few times) to know when it was being used against her. Now that he'd gotten them interested and on the right track, Hallstalker was letting them walk into what felt suspiciously like a trap. And The Doctor had an annoying habit of walking willingly into those.

Rose leaned over to whisper in Jack's ear –

" _Is it just me, or is that Hallstalker bloke really up to no good?_ "

Jack nodded, ever wary of his captor. Their conversation was inaudible over the grinding of the lift. " _This guy isn't acting anything like his normal self – he's out of character, and it's by no means unintentional. Right now he reminds me of a little goblin, and an insecure one at that. Except, Hallstalker **has** no insecurities._ "

" _So, what's he normally like?_ " Rose whispered back, curious.

" _Arrogant, condescending, insane, evil… He's usually pretty loud. Not to mention he has a sadistic side a few galaxies wide, and he scares the you-know-what out of me. Now he's just…so tiny in comparison,_ " Jack explained.

Rose leaned closer. " _D'you think The Doctor kn–_ "

"Of course I know he's faking it, Rose!" The Doctor announced loudly. "It doesn't matter what he acts like – if he's got a trap lined up for us, which he undoubtedly _does_ , then we're going to fall into is whether he wants us headfirst, backwards, or…through a trapdoor and down into a water slide!"

Hallstalker seethed quietly, not yet willing to give up his act.

"No, I'd say it's fairly obvious he's not acting his normal self," The Doctor continued. "A hive full of Daleks and Cybermen all terrified speechless of a little cretin with one good eye? I don't think so!" He turned to the Seeker still cowering behind him. "What's the point of it, eh? I'll tell you what – there isn't. We know what game you're playing, so there's no use keeping it up. Show your true colors and this whole business will go a lot quicker, _believe me._ "

Hallstalker grinned, yet again.

And all at once, the facade evaporated.

The Seeker raised himself up to his true height, towering well above Jack and The Doctor. His shifty gaze stiffened, radiating malevolence. His aura radiated its own dark iridescence – a virtual power so strong that even the immense column of empty air he situated had trouble containing it, and the two humans felt an unnatural need to run and hide. It was like a curtain had been lifted – Hallstalker's aura came over Rose like a wave of malice, his presence so perfectly and unspeakably evil.

And as the lift system continued its sluggish ascent it occurred to Rose that this, truly, was a man capable of murdering two Dragons in cold blood.

Wait.

… _What?_

" _You think yourself clever, don't you, Timelord?_ " Hallstalker said accusingly, black words oozing power.

The Doctor smiled, unperturbed by Hallstalker's swift and dark change of tune. If anything, he saw it as a challenge. "Well, I have to be, don't I? Otherwise I couldn't hop across a pair of _planets_ without the whole of creation going up in flames. Here we are, then!" he finished as the elevator pulled up to a sharp stop.

Hallstalker, guise cast off, proceeded to the Dragon's cell without even a side-cast glance.

Jack remained two steps behind at all times, prepared for anything.

Rose kept her distance, choosing instead to huddle by The Doctor's side. She didn't even have to speed up to match his gait - the Timelord knowingly fell back to keep even with her. It was like he knew she'd been doing some sleuthing on her own.

"Doctor," she said quietly, "I think there must be some sort of…I don't know, a…mistake."

The tenth incarnation of The Doctor raised his eyebrow slightly, like he did when someone made no sense or made loads of sense on the contrary. "Are you thinking what I've been thinking?" he asked, still walking.

"I think so," Rose answered cautiously. "See, you said back in the Tardis that Dragons can't be killed – that they just pop off when it's their time. They're practically invincible, right? And now this lunatic is confessing to have killed _two of them_. How's that possible?"

The Doctor's lip turned up at the corners a bit for a moment, outwardly pleased that Rose finally got onto his level of thinking.

"I don't know," he said, smile fading. "I really don't know. But take a look around you – all these aliens, all of their technology. Hallstalker's had _years_ to sort it all out. That's why they're called Seekers, Rose. They go out into the universe, seeking out new technology and sciences to make their civilization better. They never go to war with other planets, although they very may well have started a few. ...Perhaps even a few _hundreds_. The Seekers just take bits and pieces of other cultures and make them their own. Just imagine what they could do with Timelord technology."

The Doctor took a moment to shudder, picturing his own people in the hands of Hallstalker's.

Rose digested what he told her, and posed another query. "But you said they only really use _technology_. No bio involved. What did he need a baby Dragon for? Or… _any_ of these people, for that matter?"

"Good observation," The Doctor praised, earning a smile from his companion. "Usually they keep members of different species around so they can learn to operate the tech properly. After that, they're just entertainment…you know the type. But here's the interesting bit that's got me in a twist - You see, Dragons, they don't actually _have_ any technology. Draugal Nova is very jungle-y, and their architecture is all organic. And why _would_ they need the tech? Their bodies are weapons enough – fire breath, flight, built-in armor, horns and claws and such. So I have to agree, that really does beg the question of why he stole her in the first place…"

"The Dragon child," Hallstalker said, gesturing to a cell, "…as you wanted."

* * *

Neither The Doctor nor Rose had had any preconceptions about the Dragon's appearance. Of course The Doctor knew Dragons' basic anatomy, but the colors were not generally so diverse. Most Dragons had scales of only one or two colors, and a set of horns with a hue to complement. Their hues were largely organic, mottled, or fit to match certain types of gemstones or metals.

But the heir to Draugal Nova was gifted with nearly the whole spectrum.

She had reds, golds, greens and blues so vibrant a fashion designer might die of the overwhelming beauty. She had a pixie cut of pure scarlet, and a crown of blood-red horns across her skull. A diamond-shaped blade of pure red tipped the end of her tail with an edge so fine that the air molecules might be split by its passage. Her wings draped to the floor like an elegant cloak, and when stretched their span would reach almost six meters across. As an afterthought, her pattern reminded The Doctor of a parrot, or some sort of exotic bird.

And he realized then that she was just that to the Seeker – forget technology, she was his _pet_. The way her skintight outfit was tailored to show off her curves, with a neckline cut just low enough to display the bright scarlet on her chest – the whole design was to compliment her beauty. She was a trophy to Hallstalker, one that he took exceptional pride in.

It was going to be hard, The Doctor realized, to get her out of this alive.

That was, if they got out at all.

" _What do you think of her, Doctor?_ " Hallstalker inquired, breaking Rose and Jack out of their awed trance with the grating of his voice.

"She's beautiful…" Rose whispered, laying a hand on the glass of the cell.

Jack nodded his wide-eyed agreement.

"Precisely why I've kept her," Hallstalker sneered in reply. "But you seem to think she's better off in your care, don't you, _Timelord_? My Dragon doesn't appear any worse for wear, does she? I've kept her well. Why not just let her stay with me? Let fate run its course. Unfortunate things happen all the time, Doctor. You can't stop _every_ evil doing in the universe, despite your fervent attempts. Why not… _let this one go?_ "

The Doctor was silent for a long moment. And then...

" _After all this..._ " he hissed, biting back a rage that could barely be contained, " _you want me to walk away? You lured me here to tease me with her release, and you kept the hook baited by putting Jack on the first floor where you knew I'd see him. And now that I'm right where you want me, you're suggesting that I slip the trap? ...Then...what was the whole point of this? Did you just bring me here to gloat? To use this poor tortured child's life as a soiled rag and rub her in my face?!"_

Just as Jack was about to speak for him, The Doctor whirled around and grabbed Hallstalker by the collar of his coat.

He forced the Seeker against the metal railing, holding his head over the edge. His eyes were wild with rage, and his teeth were bared in a display of utter revulsion.

Rose almost stopped him, but thought against it.

" _Now you listen, and you listen well, Seeker,_ " The Doctor hissed. "I may not be able to stop every little wrong thing that's happening in the universe, you're right, but I'll be _damned_ if I ever stop trying. I've seen millions of people tortured at the hands of madmen, and all of them, _all of them_ , I've given my whole being to save. There will be a reckoning for what you've done here, and I'm not leaving until you relinquish every last _soul_."

"I think you'll find that statement true on both sides of the coin, Timelord. If you don't find a way out, I'm afraid you'll never be leaving," Hallstalker retorted, half-choking.

"I have a Tardis. I can leave whenever I please."

Hallstalker bit out a laugh from beneath The Doctor's grip. "Tardis? Oh, you mean the blue box my androids locked up as soon as we boarded the lift? Good luck finding it now."

Out of spite, Rose took a glance down into the bottom of the Seeker's hive.

Sure enough, the Tardis was gone.

"The Tardis will _always_ find me, and I her." The Doctor glowered, releasing the Seeker. "You'd just better hope she can get to me soon enough to save you from all of these angry people I'm going to set free. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to start with this Dragon."

"Very well," Hallstalker said, pulling himself together, "If you insist." He gestured to a two-button keypad on the door of the Dragon's cell.

"Go ahead, Doctor. Wake her up."

As The Doctor reached out to press the keypad, Hallstalker set into a malicious grin.

* * *

The Dragon's eyes shot open.

Her cell door was cracked, far enough for someone to walk through. The glass of the cell was one-sided, so she couldn't see through it. But something was different. Hallstalker would never let the door open with her awake inside.

Something was wrong.

The electric handcuffs that held her snapped open and her limbs were released. She dropped to the ground, thin limbs barely strong enough to keep her up. Her back hunched over beneath the weight of her wings, and she allowed her tail to balance for her. Her pupils morphed from humanoid orbs to reptilian slits. She still couldn't see on the other side of the door, but she knew...

There was someone waiting on the other side.

Four someones, to be exact. She could smell each of them individually. There was Hallstalker, who always reeked of death; a younger man, a human, whom she had seen tortured here before; a human woman, younger than all the rest; and finally – the oldest being she had ever smelled.

His aura was like time itself, mingled with joy and life and pain. The universe hurled around him like he was the sun and nexus to every world and plane in existence. His presence was so solid, so whole, he practically became the center of gravity for all life forms he came into contact with. She could feel his eyes boring into her from the other side of the one-way glass, and an intense shiver ignited along her spine and spiraled down to the very tip of her tail. So completely intense was this instinct that she never doubted for a second who this man was.

It was _him_.

 _He_ had finally come for her.

The door swung completely open then, and it revealed (to her instant horror) her greatest fear. He was beyond Hallstalker, beyond everything horrible that had ever happened to her.

It was _him_.

 _The Doctor_.

* * *

The Doctor took in the look of sheer terror on the Dragon's face. His eyes grew hard, angering at the obvious effect that Hallstalker had had on her psyche. Jack knew exactly what had transpired to provoke such fear, as he had seen a great deal of it himself.

He drew in a breath to speak, and the Dragon shot past him.

Her wings scraped against the door frame, but the lightning bolt of adrenaline in her system made her ignorant to the pain. She bolted, knocking past Jack and Rose and Hallstalker. Rose fell back against Jack in alarm, wary of the blade that darted back and forth in the Dragon's wake.

The heir to the Dragon Star leapt up onto the metal railing, and dove.

" _ **Run, Artemis!**_ " Hallstalker screamed animatedly, maniacally, " _ **Run! The Doctor has come to kill you!**_ "

The Dragon, Artemis, had her arms and legs streamlined against her sides. The angle of her descent was perfect and swift - in barely four seconds, she met the ground. Her wings stretched wide, the membranes reaching to catch some last-minute air and slow the landing. She crouched low when she touched down, and her head snapped around, to see if she'd been followed.

Jack, Rose and The Doctor leaned over the railing after her.

Below them, the Dragon shivered with fear and revulsion. She got one look at The Doctor and ran, escaping into the labyrinth of tunnels that weaved endlessly beneath the surface of the Seekers' planet.

"What have you done?!" The Doctor demanded, rounding upon Hallstalker.

Hallstalker grinned.

"I have just revealed my true intentions, Timelord! You asked what the Dragon child was meant for? Well, it was this - I have raised her to believe that you are her mortal enemy. Her grim reaper, even, as the humans so eloquently put it. She has been conditioned carefully since her birth. And you will not be able to undo what I have done. Surrender to me now, while you still can! If you attempt to save the Dragon child, try to find her and corner her, she will kill you and your companions – as her draconic instinct dictates. _Choose, Doctor! Choose, before_ –"

Jack lashed out, punching Hallstalker in the throat.

The Seeker clutched his neck with claw-like fingers, collapsing to the ground with only a metal pole as support.

The Doctor looked up at Jack with anger in his eyes, but the emotion wasn't meant for the immortal soldier. The three time-travelers bolted for the lift, leaving Hallstalker to lie in his fortress choking.

* * *

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE –

* * *

In case you're wondering, (I mean, I don't think I really made it obvious,) Hallstalker is loosely based off of Doctor Rick Trager from the Outlast horror games ("Outlast" and "Outlast: Whistleblower"). Just an interesting tidbit for you. Also, I got a review a while back from someone who told me that this fic makes it seem like I'm mashing together sci-fi and fantasy. But really, I'm not. Artemis is actually one of the only two characters in my book series who has dragon powers. It's purely science-fiction, but I wrote it this way because I didn't want to have to give away anything from my book (which nobody's read yet).

(This is a re-upload.)

All reviews get cookies!


	4. Caves and Chains

AUTHOR'S NOTE-

* * *

How crazy was that last one, huh, guys? Yeah, I know – GIMME MORE FICTION, DA**IT. Fine. Here ya go, have another chapter. This one is largely a chase scene, but it's one of my faves. Enjoy!

* * *

I DO NOT OWN DOCTOR WHO OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS MENTIONED WITHIN.

DO NOT USE MY ORIGINAL CHARACTERS OR I WILL WITHHOLD ALL COOKIES.

* * *

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

* * *

" _ **Doctor, she's over here! This way!**_ " Jack bellowed.

The walls of the tunnels were inset with pockets of bioluminescent life-forms – insects and bacteria that Rose was grateful for, despite her thorough dislike of creepy-crawlies. This bioluminescence provided them with surprisingly long-ranged blue lighting, if a bit dim. Their dull shadows danced around on the rough-hewn walls, playing tricks on Rose's mind.

Jack was using his vortex manipulator (which Hallstalker had not taken, he merely disabled its teleportation abilities for the umpteenth time) to track the Dragon. It was a challenge to keep the screen steady while he ran, and he could barely read the damn thing so he switched the output to audio. The leather-and-tech armband beeped, signaling a close alien life-form – this one was on the move, and it was fast.

The Doctor veered around a sharp corner, long coat billowing behind him like a cloak. His twin hearts thundered, but he was nowhere close to tiring. He'd once been forced to run for four days straight, and at the end of it he came out with enough energy and stability of mind to bring down a fake vulture god. No, in this instance he would have no problem catching the Dragon. The real problem was figuring out what to do _when_ they caught up to her. His Gallifreyan mind was hard at work trying to figure out a way to make her understand that he really wanted to help her get home instead of killing her. The first priority, clearly, was to calm her down.

But how could he convince a terrified child that he wasn't going to hurt her if he was still chasing after her?

Rose followed close behind The Doctor. Her chest heaved, but she ignored the burning sensation in favor of their mission. (Good exercise, she told herself – mum would be pleased.) The Dragon was leading them on a genuine marathon – and not one that Rose had any real desire to be running. The soles of her trainers were wearing thin, and she'd already added about ten kilos worth of sweat to her hoodie.

" _How can this girl possibly outrun three fit adult humanoids?_ " Rose thought, breaths shuddering with her footfalls. " _Tell you what, though, as soon as we get back to the Tardis, I'm not moving for a week!_ "

They followed her through the maze with blind judgement, taking her movements as their only guide. They were gaining on her, slowly but surely, and it was only a matter of time before they finally caught up with her. What happened next was anyone's guess, but Rose had a sneaking suspicion that it wouldn't be preferable in any case.

Jack split off down a separate path, and The Doctor followed.

"Doctor!" Rose called out, losing sight of both men. "Wait up for me!"

The tunnel became infinitely darker here, and Rose couldn't see much past her own feet. Consumed by darkness, she slowed for fear of causing herself personal injury.

Unfortunately, it wasn't slow enough.

She stumbled over a gouge in the rock, stubbing her toe. Her momentum kept her going, only half-balanced. Rose looked up, but saw no sign of The Doctor or Jack.

Instead, she ran face-first into a wall of stone.

For a split second, she saw stars. Rose fell back, hands cradling her forehead. Her feet went out from beneath her and her bum hit the ground with a solid **_whumph_**. She moaned and rolled onto the ground. Her vision split into two swaying versions of the same image. Immediately she knew she had a mild concussion. It took everything she had not to faint, because she really wanted to, but The Doctor needed her. She lay on her back, still in pain.

" _Come on, Rose..._ " she muttered to herself, words sluggish as her consciousness rolled downhill. " _Don't give up...yet..._ "

Her vision started to go dark red.

Pain blossomed anew over her forehead, pulsing and throbbing in time with her heartbeat. She sound of internal bass against her eardrums roared. There was burning in her scalp... She was so dizzy... so... so... diz...zy... ... ...

And the last thing she saw was Hallstalker's face looming over her.

* * *

Artemis ran.

She ran even though she couldn't see. She couldn't breathe.

She hit herself on multiple low overpasses, and each time a few of her spectrum-colored scales sparked against the rocks. It didn't matter. There was fire in her chest and her Soul felt like it could give out at any second. But it didn't matter.

None of it mattered if she was going to die.

By luck and instinct alone was she still going, the momentum of her wings and body maintaining most of her speed. Artemis knew the rhythm now, and her tail commandeered balance. Her arms were useless. The only thing they were good for was bracing against the rock when she ran into a wall or wiping off blood.

And she was at a sheer disadvantage – she had never actually run in her life. She was smaller than the other humanoids, so she had less lung capacity. She was starving. She had very little energy. Her legs weren't as long. Not to mention the other humanoids weren't held down by extra limbs. It was true that her Soul provided a constant flow of new energy, but that didn't mean much - it had been working in overdrive since the day of her birth, and likely didn't possess what it would take to get her to safety.

This death-hunt was becoming more stacked against her by the minute.

The only thing that kept her going was fear – fear and adrenaline. Her terror was so strong that she swore the Timelord could probably _smell_ her. All she could think was, "why"?

Why does he want to kill me?

Why did Hallstalker let him come for me?

 _Why?_

* * *

The Doctor's thoughts switched into overdrive, which went a little something like this –

 **"/Artemis/Hallstalker said her name was Artemis/not bad/**

 **goddess of the hunt/kind of ironic, but hey/maybe I'll start**

 **by using her name/yes, that sounds about right/**

 **I can work with that/** **ow, that stalactite hurt/where was I/oh**

 **right, the Dragon/JACK GO FASTER/how do I calm her down/**

 **does she like gold?/oh brilliant Doctor/that might be useful if**

 **we actually HAD SOME/anyway, no/ that could be seen as**

 **racist/gah what can I do/what do I do/what do I say/what/**

 **what/ow/what/wait, where's Rose/"**

 **"/Rose?/"**

The Doctor ground to a halt, scraping his shoes into the rock. His head swung left and right, immediately coming to the realization that his companion was no longer present.

" _Jack, wait!_ " he shouted. " _We lost Rose!_ "

But it was too late.

He heard nothing, outside of his own breathing, which meant that he was completely separated from his friends. Now Jack was lost, too.

The Doctor cursed, slapping a hand against the wall in frustration. Why was it so difficult for the universe to allow him to do the right thing? A pinprick of something made itself known in the very back of his mind (whether it was intuition or instinct, he didn't know or care), and he knew without a doubt that Rose was in trouble. Over the past few years he'd become highly attuned to Rose's mental footprint, and right now her signal was screaming distress.

The Timelord called out again for Jack, hoping that the immortal might have noticed his disappearance.

But there was no reply from Jack.

And judging by the distant sound of roaring in the forked tunnel up ahead, it appeared he might have run into the Dragon.

* * *

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

* * *

Artemis was curled up in a ball, wings wrapped around her in a feeble attempt at defense. She was shaking so hard that her teeth chattered. She couldn't see straight. It hurt to bind up her heaving lungs, but again it didn't matter. Her fear had never been so prominent.

And she was dead.

The male human had her backed into a corner – she had run herself right into a dead end that dwindled off until nothing could fit inside.

The human was tall, as tall as Hallstalker and physically stronger. She could sense the chemical storm in his system, predatory, almost gleeful. The thrill of chase was thick in his aura, and it terrified her. He had enjoyed this. She felt his eyes boring into her and resisted the urge to squirm beneath his gaze. If she moved, he might not leave.

Quiet fury channeled throughout her mind - fury that the shaking was not helping her to blend in. The human saw her shaking, she knew he had to. He was still there, still poised to attack. His shadow loomed at the mouth of the tunnel, cutting off all escape. She was, undoubtedly, trapped.

Now all she could do was wait for him to call for The Doctor.

 _Why didn't he end it already?!_

Artemis peeked over the arm of her wing, and saw the human's silhouette hovering just three feet away from her.

When had he moved?!

She flinched, her eyes glazing over and forgetting to focus. She could smell him strongly now – she felt his aura wash over her, and her fear warped it into a thing of malevolence. Jack had no intention to harm her, but the torrent of chemicals in her brain sent all sort of strange signals through her conscious mind.

She could imagine his hands wrapping around her throat or her middle, dragging her back through the tunnels. She could imagine that any second now he would strike and send her back into unconsciousness.

Or maybe not – maybe she wouldn't pass out and he'd rain blow after crippling blow onto her scales.

That was most likely.

Artemis pulled her head back down like a turtle, bracing for the end.

 **"/Oh god/oh god no/no/no no no/I'm dead/this is it/ this**

 **is it/no/why/why why why/please/no/please don't/please**

 **human/no/please don't kill me/please/no/oh god don't touch**

 **me/no/please/stop/please/DON'T TOUCH ME/OH MY GOD**

 **/NO/NO/NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!/STOP/AAAA**

 **AAAHHHHHHHH!/"**

If Jack had heard these thoughts, he made no indication.

He had, ever so gently, placed his hand on the membrane of Artemis's wing (at that particular moment was when she had started internally screaming). She jumped in response, but tried to cover the movement as though her resistance were the deciding factor of her fate.

Jack frowned with a great deal of sadness, and pity. Her fear was beyond what he'd imagined.

He moved his hand, ever so slightly, along the arm of her wing, trying to soothe her. He willed the physical contact to project his intentions to her - it was a lesser skill of certain psychics, but hard to pull off without direct mental connection. Apparently it wasn't working.

" _Shhh…_ " Jack whispered, in the lightest volume he could manage.

Artemis jerked at the sound. She was shaking so badly that she caused Jack's hand to vibrate.

This wasn't looking good.

If she stayed in this state for too much longer, her heart might give out – like a rabbit or fish. She could go into shock or cardiac arrest, in which case Jack wouldn't be much able to help her. He would need medical expertise for that...medical expertise which _The Doctor_ could likely provide.

But if he called for The Doctor, that could make the Dragon's condition worse. She might literally die of fright at that point, or she might try to kill him. Kill them.

Would she, though?

Had the Seeker really meant what he said? Even now, when Jack had her trapped and cornered, she made no move to attack. She was petrified, unable to move out of fear. She was just a scared kid – scared and alone and tortured for most of her life.

Yeah, Hallstalker truly was a heartless monster.

And Jack was quickly running out of ideas.

* * *

When Rose woke up, she was chained and shackled.

Her arms were locked against the sides of a cell. She was standing, somehow, but weak. Her head felt heavy and bloated, and she could feel a welt the size of mum's favorite china dish beginning to manifest in the middle of her forehead. She was thirsty, and ravenous, with no indication of how long she'd been unconscious.

Coherency swiftly returned to her thoughts, and in a flourish she began to collect herself.

What had happened?

Where was Jack?

Where was Hallstalker?

Where was the Dragon?

 _Where was The Doctor?_

She looked around the cell – her field of vision was limited to the cells beside her, but she could see nothing of the outside world. In the cell to her right was a Dalek, and in the other was one of the potato-head aliens. So, she had been placed in Jack's cell.

The Dalek turned its metallic head towards Rose then, its eyestalk gaping eerily at her. Rose gave it a look of apprehension, expecting it to try to kill her, but it merely turned back around.

A single strip of lighting ran around the ring of cells, casting a shadow over the front of her face. The floors were patterned like checkers, here and there splotched with stains of red and grey and a myriad of other muted colors. The back wall was not glass but dingy cement – aged and cracked, and yellowed with age.

At this point, Rose really contemplated it – what it would really be like to spend one's entire life chained up like this. She felt like an animal in a cage – waiting to be slaughtered, or worse. And she knew that it felt infinitely worse for those who had already long passed the point of hope for escape. For those that had given up and submitted to this hell, there could be no describing the feeling.

And all of this suffering was caused by one twisted Seeker.

" _ **Hallstalker!**_ " Rose screamed, " _ **When I get out of here, I'm going to kill you!**_ "

But there was no reply.

She was alone.

The Dalek looked at her once more, as if wondering why she bothered to resist her fate. A part of Rose wondered it too, but as long as The Doctor was still alive she still had hope.

Didn't she?

" _Please, Doctor._ " She thought, sending out a silent plea, " _Find me._ "

* * *

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE-

* * *

What did you think? The next chapter is my absolute favorite, so I figure I'll save it for tomorrow.

(This is a re-upload)

All reviews are deserving of a cookie.


	5. Artemis to Jack

AUTHOR'S NOTE-

* * *

I really am a liar when it comes to updating times, aren't I? I'm just obsessed with this series, and it's so nice to have strangers appreciate the conglomerations of words I spew. Thank you to my followers (y'all are golden). I give you all of the cookies.

* * *

I DO NOT OWN DOCTOR WHO OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS MENTIONED WITHIN.

DO NOT USE MY ORIGINAL CHARACTERS.

* * *

The Doctor hissed in frustration. His eyes strained in the dark, vainly searching for any signs of life he recognized.

"Alright, think, Doctor," he said to himself, panting intermittently. "You've got no Tardis, no allies, and no way out. So, priorities - what do I need first? I need..."

Who should he go after? Was he more concerned with Rose, or Jack and Artemis?

If he tried to go after the Dragon, he could get himself killed. The Hallstalker had been extremely clever in that regard, to use Artemis's fear against him. Fear was perhaps the greatest weapon in the universe, in all of time and space. In this instance, maybe it was wiser to keep himself out of the Dragon equation. Jack could handle her, couldn't he? After all, he was immortal now – that was why he'd left Jack at that game satellite in the first place.

The Doctor really wanted to help Artemis.

He really truly did.

But Rose could have gone anywhere, and there _was_ nowhere on this planet that she could safely be – no niche or hole or room in which she could exist without fear of Hallstalker or his androids, or anything else less desirable that lived here. Even at his side, she was in peril. But alone?

 _Who to choose?_

His own companion, or a frightened young Dragon?

The Doctor heard a very faint scream from the general direction which they'd come, and a jarring sense of dread came over him. Both of his heartbeats doubled in speed when his brain finally interpreted the distant sound entirely.

 **"/ROSE/"**

The Doctor instantly settled on Rose, and in the next heartsbeat he was running.

He reached around to his inside pocket as he sprinted, and fished out the sonic screwdriver yet again. He used his thumb to press the sonic's button in a certain sequence, rejoicing internally when his new and improvised preset worked.

Back inside the Tardis, before they'd set foot on the Seeker's planet, The Doctor had stopped Rose to give her a sincere warning.

But that wasn't the only thing he'd done.

He had plucked a loose hair off of Rose's jacket when she wasn't looking. Then once he'd turned his back to her he had moved the sonic screwdriver from his inside pocket to the front pocket of his trousers. During their first conversation with Hallstalker, The Doctor's hands had been at work inside his pocket – coaxing the hair into the screwdriver's scanner. And once they had all turned to walk along that first row of cells, he slipped the sonic back to his inside pocket.

Genius.

The sonic screwdriver, coupled with its new preset, could now track signs of Rose's DNA. (He regretted not doing the same for Jack, but that was all water under the bridge at this point.)

The Doctor shakily aimed the screwdriver at the tunnel ahead of him, letting it guide him to his companion. Each time he came to a fork or crossroads, the beaming light would intensify once aimed towards her general direction. At a dead sprint now, his twin hearts beat with feverish determination.

" **/hold on Rose/I'm coming/"**

* * *

" **/NO/STOP/PLEASE/…/no/…/wait/what…./what is**

 **he doing/why aren't I dead/why/why/what's going on/what**

 **/why isn't he trying to kill me/why/why not/just end it/ stop**

 **dragging it out/stop/where is The Doctor/why/why haven't**

 **you called for him/why/why/I don't understand/why/why/**

 **why/…../your hand/…./it's kind of warm/…..**

 **/I don't/…../I don't understand/…/who/**

… **./who are you/…/…/…../it's so cold**

 **here/…/I'm freezing/…../there's no sun here/no heat/**

… **./just pain/just cold/so cold/so lost/I'm lost/…../I'm cold/**

 **no wait/don't stop/don't move/don't leave/you're so warm/"**

Jack sat beside her as these thoughts progressed, eventually shifting so that he was cradling her in his arms. They sat in the dark, narrow tunnel in complete and utter silence, feeling each other's presence quite vividly.

Artemis had stopped shaking, now only shivering as her body temperature changed at a rapid pace. She rested her head on Jack's chest, feeling her scales leech his natural body heat. A tingle ran up her core every time he moved. It wasn't out of fear or enjoyment, just... She had never experienced such contact before, and thus was at a loss for interpreting the signals her brain offered in reaction. It wasn't unpleasant. Truly it was the most pleasant thing her scales had ever felt. But the fear that had been trained into her was reluctant to accept any physical contact.

Though she liked the way he smelled – not like death, as Hallstalker did, or like the rancid body fluids of the other thousands of alien species here. He smelled like life, like something that had spent its whole life in the sun. He smelled clean and warm and so completely _comforting_. If this was what all humans smelled like, then maybe…maybe they couldn't be that bad.

Jack put his chin over the top of her head. Her scarlet horns were sharp enough to puncture skin, and dug into his collarbones, but he didn't care.

Artemis was so much like Ianto - she was timid and quiet and ever so gentle, responding to every little ounce of touch. Jack often held Ianto in a similar manner, comforting him when he woke from nightmares about Lisa or Jack's multiple deaths.

And he didn't dare move. Nothing in the universe could have convinced Jack to separate from Artemis, in that moment.

Because he could hear her thoughts.

 **"/it's so cold here/I'm so alone/the only other one is Hallstalker**

 **/all he ever brings is pain/** only pain **/he laughs at my pain/at all**

 **of us/…../** why **/.../why would you try to kill me/you know/you've**

 **felt it too/you've seen it/you know what Hallstalker does/you**

 **know/you/…/you're so warm/** warm **/it's/warm/….**

 **/who are you/…../who/** who **/…/who are you?/"**

At this point, Jack couldn't stand it any longer.

He couldn't just sit by and let her thoughts fly through his head unanswered. She was practically begging him, and she didn't know he could even hear. And, psychic or not, she needed his help. She needed another sentient being to help her unlearn this fear, so she could understand that the rest of the universe did not consist of Hallstalker.

He drew in a breath, stilling himself.

" **/** Artemis **/"** Jack sent out.

He felt her whole body seize up, like a collective gasp that encompassed every cell and fiber. Her thoughts faltered, and then instantly picked up speed.

" **/!/!/!/!/!/!/!/!/!/!/OH MY GOD/what/what/**

 **he can HEAR me/what/how** **/what/**

 **he can hear me/YOU CAN HEAR ME/how/how/how/**

 **HOW CAN YOU HEAR ME/WHO ARE YOU/?/!/!/!/!/!/"**

Jack held her tighter, breathing slowly in deliberation to create a sense of calm between them both. He felt the shudder in her scales as he caressed her shoulder with his thumb, and his eyes screwed shut in pity. He replied back to her, gently as he could.

" **/My name is Captain Jack Harkness/"**

Artemis seemed to forget their connection for a moment, broadcasting her inner thoughts. Or, perhaps it was intentional that she bared herself to him. Either way, her entire mind was open to him.

" **/Jack/Harkness – that's pretty/** his name **/I know his name/ I**

 **know the names of three people/do I give my name/do I/ is that**

 **what people do/is he still listening/does he want to know my full**

 **name/** does he **/I think that's what people do/what is my name/**

 **who am I/I am Artemisia Vhysrael Rhyex/"**

Jack smiled – his tactics were working.

He thought for a moment, trying to decide how to further the conversation in a way that would diffuse her nerves.

Artemis seemed to be very unsure of herself. It was understandable, and after all the only other being she'd likely communicated with was Hallstalker. Jack briefly wondered how Artemis was able to communicate so fluently. Perhaps one of the Dragons' natural abilities was language assimilation.

Jack considered letting his thoughts fly freely too. Maybe Artemis was just second-guessing herself because she didn't know how to communicate with other people, or just didn't know if she was already doing it quite effortlessly. If he could get her to see, and show her that she was just like any other person in her mental processes….

Jack concentrated, letting most of his mental barriers collapse.

There was a rush of communication.

" **/Artemisia/Vhysrael/Rhyex/her name is pretty/**

 **really pretty/I like** **it/it's pretty/** she's

pretty **/one of the most beautiful species I've ever**

 **seen/** well perhaps besides Timelords **/WAIT/"**

Jack cringed. He hadn't meant to mention The Doctor.

But Artemis didn't flinch at his mention. The only thing she was surprised about was the fact that his mind had opened up to her so completely, and so suddenly. Jack privately celebrated a small victory, recognizing that Artemis was bearing down on her own fear.

She broadcast back to him –

 **"/Timelords/** The Doctor **/The Doctor is your friend/you really like**

 **him/you have so many/so many memories of him/good memories/**

 **he has so many faces/so many voices/** I like his previous face better **/**

 **he's so old/it's impossible/he's so intelligent/so wise/he's felt so**

 **much pain/so much anger/more than I have/I don't compare/but even**

 **after/after all of it/after everything he's seen/everything he's done/**

 **everything he's felt/he still tries to help people/he's so kind/….**

 **…../I don't understand/what/Jack/Jack?/is he really going to**

 **kill me/?/?/?/?/"**

Jack sent back immediately –

" **/NO/"**

Artemis challenged.

" **/?/no/what/why not/no/you're wrong/you/you're wrong/you**

 **have to be/wrong/you're lying/he IS going to kill me/he is/you're**

 **wrong/Hallstalker said/"**

Jack felt Artemis's heart rate skyrocket. He pulled his arm up higher, cradling his fingers around the back of her head protectively. Artemis's mental wavelength calmed almost instantly. Apparently Dragons were very receptive to physical contact, as well as the intentions behind it. With one touch, she seemed to understand all of his intentions.

He tried to explain –

" **/Hallstalker/Hallstalker is a murderer/he tortures people/he tortured**

 **you for fun/you know/you know as well as I do/you know what he did/**

 **he'll go on doing this for the rest of his life/how can you believe him/"**

Artemis replied –

" **/he's the only one/the only person I know/knew/I know three people now/**

 **you/Hallstalker/The Doctor/Hallstalker is the only one I've ever known/this/**

 **this is my home/here/this is the only place I have/"**

Jack mentally shook his head, and sent back –

" **/no/Artemis no/this is a prison/it's YOUR prison/"**

Artemis broadcast her confusion.

" **/what do you mean/"**

Jack realized then that Artemis had no idea of her origin.

She had no idea of where she'd come from. She was oblivious to the fact that there was something, beyond this place, waiting for her. She didn't know she was the heir to an entire planet, or that she'd ever had parents. She hadn't even appeared to contemplate how she'd come into existence.

Hallstalker had never told her anything beyond her own name and her "purpose" in life. She seemed to understand that what was happening to her was wrong, which was a good start, but she really was clueless about the rest of the universe.

" **/Artemis/when you were a baby/a few hours old, maybe/Hallstalker killed your**

 **parents/your family/your REAL family/he stole you/brought you here/imprisoned**

 **you/tortured you/so he could use you to lure in The Doctor/this is not your home/"**

Artemis screamed back as her fear made a resurgence.

" **/he lured him in/So The Doctor could kill me/HE'S GOING TO KILL ME/"**

Her heart rate went up again.

" **/NO/"** Jack sent, running his fingers through her scarlet hair, **"/he wants to**

 **help you/save you/take you home/home/away from Hallstalker/home/do**

 **you understand/there's a whole planet/another world/out there/waiting for you**

 **/** you **/you can go home/you can leave/you can meet other people/more people**

 **/you can meet thousands of people like you/you're the heir to the planet/Draugal**

 **Nova/that's your home/the Dragon Star/you belong there/other Dragons live**

 **there/they're waiting for you/they've been waiting for you/for sixteen years/**

 **you can go to them/you can meet them/the rest of your family/just let us help**

 **you/just let me help you/let The Doctor help you/"**

The psychic chatter stopped abruptly. The words receded from Jack's mind, leaving him in silence.

Artemis sat in stillness for a long time, digesting the information she'd been given.

Was she really what Jack said she was? More importantly, did she believe him? Trusting him was a risk she didn't know if she could take. After all, he was with The Doctor.

But…no one had ever communed with her with such honesty. No one had ever spoken to her without screaming insults or laughing at her agony. No one had ever heard her thoughts before, and if they had they certainly hadn't cared enough to bother replying. No one had ever complimented her, besides Hallstalker – and he always did it in that sick, twisted way that made her want to crawl under her own skin and die. No one had ever held her before, not like this. No one had ever tried to comfort her. No one had ever touched her without the intent of harm. No one…

Well…

There was no one like Jack in her life, not before now.

After what seemed like an eternity – which Jack was content to wait for – she made up her mind. Whether or not it was safe, or right, or even remotely advisable, she had no worldly idea. She didn't know if she was making the best decision, but for the first time in her life she actually had a CHOICE about anything.

She hoped fervently that her first choice wouldn't be the last.

Artemis looked up at Jack. She stared into his gemstone blue eyes, watching the glow of bioluminescence illuminate the intelligence and honesty within. She studied the lines of his face, noticing every detail. He had outer beauty, as well as inner. He seemed to be studying her, too. And for maybe five whole minutes, no mental communication passed between them.

And then, for the very first time, Artemis spoke.

" _…_ _okay._ "

* * *

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE –

* * *

Words cannot express how much I love Artemis and Jack together. Before I found out I was trans, Artemis was meant to be me (AND I SHIP ME WITH JACK SO FREAKIN HARD). In case you're wondering, Artemis's name is pronounced "Arr-te-mis-ee-ah" "Vis-ray-el" "Rye-ex". I know, I'm weird with names. Shoot me.

All reviews will receive one virtual cookie (with a side of love) from moi.


	6. Rage and Revelation

AUTHOR'S NOTE –

* * *

Sorry this chapter took a little longer to finish…I suppose I have no excuse other than my own laziness… But anyway, how about a good old-fashioned Doctor-villain rant?

* * *

I DON'T OWN DOCTOR WHO OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS MENTIONED WITHIN.

DO NOT USE MY ORIGINAL CHARACTERS.

* * *

The Doctor emerged into the hive's main chamber, hearts beating like the drums of a high-speed dance. His eyes were wide to bursting, searching in pure desperation for his companion. The resurgence of light burned his retinas but he didn't care to shut it out; if even a fraction of a second was wasted on lack of vision, he might miss sight of Rose.

He was rewarded instantly. Rose stood in the center of the massive room, held stationary by two androids. Fury boiled in his stomach upon sighting the welt that crowned her forehead. Dried tears lined her face, and more were falling from eyes that begged him to come to her rescue. The droids clamped down on her arms with thick cuffs that left indents in her skin, and stood with a sort of buzzing Taser poised at her throat.

And then there was Hallstalker, hands clasped behind his back, grinning gleefully, waiting for the Timelord to come reclaim his pitiful human pet. A swelling wall of dark intentions passed between them, amplified by the chemicals in his system and the fervor in his blood.

The Doctor's eyes darkened with rage.

" _Let her go,_ _ **Seeker**_ _._ " He growled.

" _I don't think I will,_ _ **Timelord,**_ " Hallstalker grinned. "You were careless enough to leave her behind, and you should have remembered that I keep what I find without exception. You left the soldier unaccounted for, too – no doubt my Dragon is busy tearing him apart. Now it's just down to _you,_ and you have no leverage with which to make threats. So I will offer you one last choice. You can surrender yourself and your Tardis to me…"

One of the androids clenched Rose tighter.

"…or you get to witness her leisurely, miserable death, and you will be attained anyway."

The Doctor's eyes slid to Rose. Tears rimmed her red eyes anew, trailing ghostly lines of eyeshadow down her cheeks. Another wave of rage came over him. _What else had Hallstalker done to her?!_

Rose nodded to him stiffly. The Doctor interpreted the message instantly:

Use your head.

Think us out of this.

Within milliseconds, a string of thoughts in his mind became a manifest plan. That was all he needed: one gesture, one simple motion from the woman he loved most, to initiate a battle strategy. And in the time it had taken her to give him said signal, The Doctor was well indeed ready for war. He settled his gaze on Hallstalker once again.

"What exactly do you want from me, Hallstalker?" The name tasted like venom on his tongue.

But before the Seeker could embark on another rant, he went on:

"No, I know, I know. You said you wanted the Tardis, and I understand perfectly – what bloke in their right mind _wouldn't_ want her? She's seen more of the universe and its wonders, its people, than I care to remember. And she's an absolutely _brilliant_ piece of engineering, if I do say so myself. But you have no ambitions to use her to travel, am I right? No, you must have already achieved some form of time travel in order to have obtained even half of these species – most of them exist in completely separate _millennia_. _And_ , you must have some way to hop to completely opposite sides of the universe."

Hallstalker's mouth gurgled contemptuously, but he waited to see where The Doctor would steer the conversation.

"So you don't need the Tardis to travel. And you couldn't care less about using her for other aforementioned methods that you've already achieved quite effortlessly, _so_ …that means you want to keep _other_ people from using her. Specifically, you want to keep _me_ from it. You need me out of the way. You hatched a plan to get me here, brooding over the details for a decade and a half. You 'invited' me here using the life of an innocent child – a honeypot you knew I couldn't resist. You intimidated me and separated me from my friends, and then what?" The Doctor took a step closer. "What's so special about this place, eh? You gave me these coordinates, not only for the planet but for a specific place _in it_ as well. I understand if you want to intimidate me with your 'collection'. Believe me, mission accomplished; I am terrified, and I'm not afraid to admit that fact. But why _here_? There must be _thousands_ of other hives like this one. After all isn't your entire species dedicated to the same deeds as you? You could have sent me anywhere on the planet, sent out a little group message to your Seeker mates to bring me here... Unless..." he said slowly, "you didn't want me to see that you're _alone_."

Hallstalker's sour grin faded.

"Oh," The Doctor said, eyebrows rising. "Oh, you _are_ , aren't you? All of the others are gone – you're the only one left. Well, that makes two of us, doesn't it? The lonely son of Gallifrey, as you put it, and the lonely son of Skoul-Blakaulos Shakkrazhiin. Is that what you want the Tardis for? You think I have some technology holed away that can bring your people back? Believe me, I wish I did. I've spent _centuries_ wishing I could revive my people."

Hallstalker cocked his head. And then he laughed – the sound was jarring, and sent up another chorus of pained cries from the surrounding cells. He was practically cackling.

When he was finished, he said, " _Why would I want to bring back my species after I just finished eliminating the last of them?_ "

The Doctor blinked. " _I…w-what?_ "

Hallstalker laughed again.

"There has always been _one_ societal struggle on this planet: to be the _last_. Our lives are – were – a game. It's a contest, don't you see? We gather and scavenge the technology of other races, and we fight to find who is supreme. He who lives to be the last wins the game, a game which has spanned the entire age of our planet. As you have by now figured out, _I_ won the game. In one move, I destroyed the rest of civilization on this planet and left it _barren_. But why should I stop there, I thought? Why not take my conquest to the rest of the galaxy, the rest of the _universe_ even? And with the last Timelord out of the way, who else remains to deter me?"

"Taking over the universe – that's a bit of a cliche, don't you think?" The Doctor pointed out, buying time. "Adhering yourself to a concept so overused sounds like child's play, if you ask me."

"It is not a cliche if it has never been achieved before," Hallstalker grinned, prided.

"Then what do you need Artemis for? Dragons have no technology. You expect me to believe that you took a short vacation to a planet with virtually no use to you just for the fun of it?"

"Well…" The Seeker conceded with a sly head-tilt off to the left, "doesn't every supreme leader need himself a partner in life? I do believe _you've_ found _yours_."

" _Oh my god…_ " Rose said, horrified, breaking her silence, _"…you want to turn that poor girl into your_ _ **queen**_ _? And here I thought you couldn't get any more_ _ **sick**_ _._ "

Hallstalker grinned. "You have set your expectations too low, human."

" _What I don't understand,_ " The Doctor interrupted loudly, "is _how_ you did it. Now, I don't care what your motives were, I just need to know how you managed to destroy two…beautiful creatures – _people_ – when the act should be, for all intents and purposes, and in every sense of the word, _impossible_."

Hallstalker's bloodied grin oozed self-pride. "Did you know, Doctor, that Dragons can voluntarily commit an act of self-destruction?"

"What do you mean?"

"Dragons have an organ that is entirely unique to their species: the Soul. It is an organ made of pure energy, and it is this that maintains their life-force so completely. But…if they choose, they can force this organ to implode upon itself, and thus they die. The energy is released as an untempered shockwave, traveling immediately to the extremities of their body and overloading their brains. Now, imagine that once upon a time there were two Dragons – of the highest rank, if you wish – who had a child. Imagine that an intruder broke into their home, and threatened to steal that child and torture it unless both parents agreed to kill themselves."

"You tricked them into taking their own lives…" Rose whispered.

"No," The Doctor challenged in a low voice. "No, I _knew_ Vhysrael and Druvidian. They would _never_ –"

"But they did," Hallstalker said, cutting him off. "The Lord and Lordess, like the fools they were, sacrificed themselves for nothing. It never crossed their minds that I would take their child anyway, once their bodies fell to the floor devoid of the spark of life. Or if they did realize it, it was too late. The rest is history, as they say – and so here we are."

The Seeker drank in the expressions of his house guests, pleasured by their horrified nature. He drew himself up to maximum height and looked down his nose at The Doctor.

"As I said, you have set your expectations too low. You cannot comprehend what I plan for the future of this universe…and the _Draugal_ bitch has no idea what's in store for her."

An American-accented voice rang out from above them.

" _ **Hey now,**_ " Jack cried. " _Is that any way to talk about a royal guest?_ "

* * *

The Doctor's head shot up.

Seventeen floors above them was Jack, leaning suavely against the rusty metal railing. The soldier grinned in satisfaction, his full lips pulling back to reveal perfect teeth.

" _Jack!_ " Rose cried out in joy. " _You're alive!_ "

" _Newsflash, honey – I can't die!_ " Jack grinned. " _I have you to thank for that. Nice to see you again, Doctor, while we've got the time! Oh, and hey, Hallstalker!"_ he bellowed, _"I've got a little message for you from a friend of mine who wants her life back!"_

And in the next moment, a sonorous roar shook the hive to its foundation.

Jack disappeared from the railing. A second later the form of a gigantic, spectrum-scaled dragon crashed through the metal rail.

The Dragon leapt down into the hive's main shaft, wings outstretched. Hallstalker and The Doctor ducked in tandem, but Rose could only shriek in the grip of the androids. The Dragon landed against the ice-cold floor, causing its flawless surface to crack and splinter beneath her weight. The planet rumbled beneath their feet. Jack was mounted with his legs over her wing-joints, hands gripped around her horns. His coat billowed and fell like a silk cloak upon her spinal scales.

Artemis (for who else could it be) growled thunderously, and The Doctor grinned with wild eyes.

Her true form was utterly gorgeous.

She stood on all fours at more than twelve feet tall, body rippling with unearned muscle. Her colors were intensified, shimmering in the sickly blue light of the Seeker hive. A multi-tiered crown of massive scarlet horns arced over her skull, and a curved red blade protruded from the center of her skull like a raised dagger. Her enraged eyes were like emeralds – jewels imbued with intelligence and hurt, not unlike The Doctor's own. Her tail and wings were poised in a display of threat, lashing and held aloft, accordingly.

Hallstalker's expression faltered.

Artemis roared again, advancing. Hallstalker growled in reply, backing against his examination table. The sheer volume of her roar triggered the androids' defensive protocols. They released Rose, who ran to The Doctor's side.

The androids turned to face Artemis, electrified weapons raised. They charged, spewing strangled cries of binary code and Seeker-language.

Artemis reared up, and with one sweep of her foreleg she decapitated both bots and sent their sparking abdomens crashing into the glass walls. There was no stopping the power in her limbs. Jack held on, grinning in exhilaration all the while.

The destruction of these two androids sent a distress signal to the rest – more than a hundred droids awoke in their recharge compartments, humming to life. They detached from the energy conduits, moving in unity. The androids plummeted down into the hive, their metal bodies seething with excess energy.

Rose and The Doctor ducked down.

Hallstalker didn't.

Artemis drew in a massive breath that filled both sets of lungs. She reared up onto her back legs, exhaled, and jettisoned a roiling stream of blue-white flame up into the shaft of the Seeker's hive. The androids were roasted upon contact with the flames – they melted and corroded, dropping like thousand-kilogram flies into the ground below. Their fried bodies crashed all around, fragments and sparks showering in every direction. Artemis used her scaled wings to shield Rose and The Doctor, but Hallstalker was not so lucky – he ran for cover, dodging around his fallen guard-droids. He was struck a multitude of times, sustaining more than ten lacerations in the span as many seconds.

Jack dismounted as the last of the androids crashed, bolting for Hallstalker.

But before he could reach him, Hallstalker cried out a strangled command –

" _ **Ketkor za zhi, ryzhtaken dilr Zhaakyaazh!**_ "

* * *

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE –

* * *

Aw yeah, what do you think of that? Hallstalker is so screwed. :D

One review is equivalent to one cookie. Perhaps several - I have an abundance...


	7. War of Minds

AUTHOR'S NOTE –

* * *

Wow, it feels like forever since the last time I uploaded a chapter of this…but the hiatus was not in vain, my friends! I've gone back and skimmed through the basic plot-line, and _holy mother of Gallifrey_ was there a plot hole big enough to drive a bus through. Hopefully this chapter will clear up that problem and give a little more distinction to what just happened.

This fic's fanbase now includes peeps from the US, the UK, Canada, Croatia, Norway, Germany, Poland, Australia, The Netherlands, Sweden, and Ireland! To quote Blackstar from Soul Eater – "YA-HOO!"

*punched*

* * *

I DO NOT OWN DOCTOR WHO OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS MENTIONED WITHIN.

DO NOT USE MY ORIGINAL CHARACTERS.

* * *

Despite everything she'd just experienced, Artemis had never been more afraid in her life.

Both she and Jack had known that their plan wasn't likely to work with her in her current emotional condition. She was in no shape to strike out against Hallstalker. At the first glimpse of him, she'd have clammed up and cowered in fear, instead of standing tall in the face of her worst fears. She would have _succumbed_ to her fears.

So she consented to have Jack take over.

She'd let him inside her mind, and gently push her aside. She could still hear and see and smell and feel, but it wasn't her moving – it wasn't _her_ making it happen. Jack was in control of both of their bodies, and it was _him_ that had helped her body to "transmorph" into its natural form for the first time.

It was Jack that made her jump down into the hive.

It was Jack that helped her roar.

He made her breathe fire.

He helped her to destroy the androids.

It was him that gave her the ability to fight back against Hallstalker.

That wasn't to say that it was necessarily an easy process – the entire time, she was screaming inside her head. She fought him to regain control of herself, but she'd given him express instructions to keep her from resurfacing. Jack heard everything, and he covered every scream with a roar, with fire.

Jack covered his _own_ emotions, as well. He portrayed the suave, cocky soldier that everyone expected. But inside he was disgusted at what he was forcing Artemis to do. Like always, he had so swallow his pride and his personal beliefs to do what needed to be done.

Artemis knew this. She knew he resented taking over.

But it didn't last for long.

As soon as Hallstalker opened his mouth to command, it was like her mind split open – simultaneously a black hole and a supernova. It was like a universe was being born and destroyed, all within the confines of her skull. It was the most painful thing that any organism in the history of the cosmos had any right to feel.

And suddenly Jack was gone – his entire presence was consumed by Hallstalker, and multiplied tenfold. Artemis's own consciousness became practically an element of fiction, so great was his power.

Those words he'd spoken were that of her own language – they repeated and resonated not only in her ears but in every fiber of her brain as well. The sound was inescapable except through death, and even then perhaps not.

Artemis's mental barriers burst into fragments, and she was slave to Hallstalker alone.

Those words – _**Ketkor za zhi, ryzhtaken dilr Zhaakyaazh.**_

Zhaakyaazh.

The Draugal word for "kill."

Hallstalker was commanding her to fulfill her purpose – the purpose he'd been imprinting into her subconscious since the day he'd stolen her.

Ketkor za zhi. _Forget all else._

Ryzhtaken dilr. _Remember it._

Zhaakyaazh.

 _Kill._

No matter how hard she fought, Artemis couldn't deny him. The words made so much sense. Nothing else had ever been so clear to her.

Yes, this was what she was meant to do.

She had to kill The Doctor.

* * *

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

* * *

Behind them, Artemis collapsed.

She de-transformed, clawing at her skull. The command, strangely untranslated by the Tardis, The Doctor and Jack recognized immediately – it was Draakeshii, the language of Dragons.

It was an order to kill.

" _ **Artemis!**_ " Jack screamed. " _ **Don't!**_ "

But the futility of his efforts was immediately apparent.

Artemis's head snapped up, and her emerald irises glowed pure, dark green.

She transformed, body expanding in a shimmer of scales. Her wide eyes and blank expression made her face look like a chill, barren plane – a space eternally devoid of emotion. The teenage girl inside was being suffocated with the intoxicating mental presence of Hallstalker.

All of this, The Doctor could see in the span of one half-second.

Artemis roared, and it dawned on him what was about to happen.

He threw Rose out of the way of danger as Artemis charged, and not a second too soon – in the next instant she plowed him over.

The Doctor was thrown back, and the force at which he hit the ground was enough to knock the wind out of him. The sonic screwdriver flew out of his hand, skidding across the ground. His limbs splayed out pathetically, dirt and dust billowing up around him.

Artemis pinned him to the spot with a heavy forepaw, claws digging into his flesh. Her weight pressed down on his deflated lungs, and she bared her headblade like a sword – its point was aimed right between The Doctor's eyes. She growled and snarled, heavy panting blowing the hair out of his face.

The Doctor gritted his teeth against the pain.

He searched her emerald eyes, and saw the internal struggle she faced. But it could hardly be called a struggle – she was overwhelmed with Hallstalker. Fear poured into her like a heavy stream of magma, screaming at her to complete the deed.

That command had been laced with the Seekers' sole natural defense mechanism – psychic persuasion. And after so many years of mental conditioning in preparation for this event, Artemis was melted butter.

" _ **Zhaakyaazh mahden, Artemisia!**_ " Hallstalker goaded.

The Seeker approached, bending down to see the panicked gleam in The Doctor's eyes. He no longer cared about the two humans in his company, and so didn't notice Rose inch her way toward the sonic screwdriver.

Hallstalker grew impatient at Artemis's resistance. She was gaining strength from underneath his thrall.

How was that possible?!

" _ **Ketkor za zhi, ryzhtaken dilr Zhaakyaazh!**_ " He screamed again.

Artemis roared, fighting his command.

The sound threatened to burst The Doctor's inner ear, but what he felt was nothing like what _she_ felt – not now that she was acting in direct defiance of Hallstalker's thrall.

The Doctor bared his teeth in agony, willing his respiratory bypass system to hold out a little longer. He summoned up all of his knowledge of the Dragons' language, and gave one last effort –

" _ **Artemisia,**_ " he gasped, speaking fluent, strained Draakeshii, " _ **Youn danostet hazha ten bin arad.**_ "

 _Artemis._

 _You don't have to do this._

* * *

For a split second, a light pierced her inner mind.

She could feel a second presence – it was fighting Hallstalker directly, wrestling into the finite mental space she called her own. The sheer mass of both minds inside her own almost forced her true consciousness out completely.

But she refused.

For once in her life, Artemis refused.

* * *

And for a split second just before she made the killing blow, Artemis hesitated.

That was all that The Doctor needed.

"DOCTOR!" Rose shouted. She put all of her strength into one arm, and hurled the sonic screwdriver into the air.

Hallstalker dove to stop the device's arc, but missed.

It landed in The Doctor's outstretched hand, and his thumb moved instinctively to its slider button. He looked up at Artemis one final time, vision losing focus.

" _Sorry about this,_ " he slurred.

Then he pressed the button, and all hell broke loose.

* * *

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE –

* * *

So, yeah! I was able to work my way about of the plot hole. (I don't think there are any more. If anyone sees something else that needs fixing, be sure to shoot me a comment.) Sorry this chapter's a little short….and hella late. As a consolation prize, you all receive cookies for this chapter, regardless of reviews given or not given. And I promise the next chapter is going to be good, so strap yourselves in!

Shoutout to pharohtrinity for being the coolest of the cool kids! I prescribe one thousand cookies to thou.


	8. Chapter 8 (Update)

Alright, guys! Sorry I haven't uploaded any new chapters in a long while. I have no excuses for that, other than it just sort of dropped off and I lost interest. I have an inkling of how I'm going to continue on from where I left off, and I know how I want the fic to end… I'm just having trouble getting the story to that point. I'm also going to go back and republish the previous chapters with some new content and edits. Within a week or so, I hope I'll have the real chapter 8 completed.

* * *

Stay tuned! - Atlas


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